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InspirationPosted Sunday, April 26, 2009, at 6:20 PM
2Tim 3:16 states that all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine and reproof, for instruction in righteousness.
I have been inspired by mentally and physically handicapped people not letting their disabilities stop them from life. I have read of how Francis Scott Key watched the bombs bursting in air and penned the Star Spangled Banner or how the gentlemen was inspired to write Amazing Grace in respect to the slave trade of early America and the Old Counties from whence we came. Several books have been written by authors who were inspired by something they had seen. The definition of inspiration is to be divinely breathed into. A person sees something at he takes it in or breathes it in and acts upon what he saw. The apostles seen what Jesus had done therefore they penned the N.T. This tells me that the Bible or as I call it God's Word is the only true Word from the Almighty, not all the others which I will not waste time listing. So for Obama to say and I quote "I'm rooted in the Christian tradition," said Obama, who has declared himself a Christian. But then he adds something that most Christians will see as universalism: "I believe there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people."taken from Fox News. For those interested you can read the full article here: http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/0... This tells me that he is not a Christian and I fear for Christian rights in the near future, for when Christians disagree with the politically correct then we are seen as extremist or even considered dangerous. People seem to be "inspired" by the words that roll of his tongue, the same as the ones that rolled off of the serpent in the garden wheb he said "Has God not said?" I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6 This contradicts what Obama stated so what it boils down to is I am inspired to be "Biblically Correct" instead of Politically correct. Comments Showing most recent comments first [Show in chronological order instead] |
A man getting to the roots of his faith.
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I am not sure if as many Christians as you believe actually do have doubts. As a matter of fact, very few have ever admitted to me that they do. It would appear to me that the power of faith and the fear of retribution is pretty strong for many.
There could be more to be found on heaven and earth, but for all my wanderings, I have yet to see it. Maybe one day a ghost will appear to convince me otherwise...
I remember you very well memyselfi, and no sarcasm intended at all. I personally have had most of the same questions that Richard has and from time to time still have them. If we were all honest I am sure a majority of Christians do from time to time. The sunshine did not come from the "side" of the argument but from the thoughtfulness of the augument. We all need our philosophies rattled a bit from time to time. After all, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,than are dreamt of in" most of our philosophies.
devan, I honestly do not know how to respond to that. If your comment was not intended to be sarcastic, thank you. I am unsure if you remember who I am and some of my previous comments though. I do not intend to be confrontational, but I imagine that a ray of sunshine could quickly turn into a black hole, had I been attempting to explain the other side of the argument. Either way, I always appreciate your comments on every subject I have seen you post on.
Richard, I do not necessarily disagree with you at all, but to be fair, there is still more to this argument. I am seriously not trying to convince you of anything, but I have to assume that you came to this blog either to find answers to questions that you have previously failed to have had answered sufficiently, or to challenge the theists with rhetoric. If your motivation is the former, I can try to offer a pragmatic explanation of my understanding, which is very limited by both experience and beliefs. I hope your motivation is not the latter, but if it is, I am only out a few minutes of typing.
The first problem with your comment lies in the fact that your perspective of "long, drawn out answers and mental gymnastics" does not take into account the very complex nature of the Bible, or of theology itself. The Bible is not an easily understood book by anyone. There are many things to consider when someone undertakes a serious and systematic examination of scripture. Sources, chronology, genres and textual criticism all produce different effects on the whole, which make individual understanding somewhat contentious and subjective. If some answers were not long and drawn out, they would not accurately reflect the fullness of the topic at hand. In short, I think the mental gymnastics are a necessary by-product of the complexity of theology. If you are curious, most of these issues fall into the categories of Biblical or Systematic Theology, or in many cases, both simultaneously.
The second part of your comment that I think is important, is your specific concept of "reality". When you write "to somehow make a God not contradict reality", I am a little unsure of what you mean by reality. Our realities are mediated through our perceptions and understandings. While it is completely justified for someone to believe that God contradicts reality, it is also a perfectly valid statement of belief that reality, does in fact, reflect God. Further, it would seem that all of our perceptions and understandings are based in large part on our experiences and knowledge which vary greatly among us. For example, I have enjoyed reading blueanjell's comments, which undoubtedly reflect their accepted reality of Biblical authority. The comments may lose something in the exchange to your reality though. No matter how enlightened, well thought out, accurate and beautiful their thoughts may be, if they are ultimately offering a proof with an object being essentially questioned by you, there is necessarily a reduction or nullification of the concepts being exchanged. There is apparently no universal reality, and if there ever were to be one, I imagine it would be one that was artificial and superficial. I can only speculate what the objective of that would be though. If you are interested, The Allegory of the Caves is one of the earliest commentaries that I know of involving the complexities of reality, and the concept has been thoroughly developed and worked since.
The "faith" that you referred to in your comment does not only apply to matters of God. I think we are all creatures of faith in one form or another. I am guessing you have the faith that when you drop a ball, it will fall to the ground. Most atheists do have faith in the sciences, which have been proven wrong time and time again. Who is to say that our modern sciences will not be wholly discounted in the future? I believe faith to be an integral part of our very beings, in that we could not form coherent concepts without it. I am not trying to judge the correctness of faith, just trying to point out that it seems to be a necessity, regardless of, and apart from, any particular theology. If you would like to look further into that, the key word heuristics will get you started.
This last part is the weightiest to me. When you assert that "maybe there is a much simpler answer to it all", I have to wonder if you have given a lot of thought to that. While it may be much simpler in the beginning to assume that our existence is entirely arbitrary and a result of good fortune and inconsequential developments, it becomes much harder as you actually go down that path. We are soon confronted with considerable issues of morality and what our lives do actually represent. There have certainly been many nihilists who have argued in one form or another that the only noble and worthwhile aspect of humanity is greed and utility, and that for our race to develop fully, these traits should be encouraged with a philosophy of egoism that ultimately, and seemingly quite unlike what I consider to be progress, embraces only our base qualities. I believe there is something vitally important left out of that picture. I do not doubt these base traits, but neither can I doubt the reality of human sentiment. If these sentiments came from a higher power, or through the linguistic development of man, the side effects of co-habitation and collective existence, or somewhere else entirely, is ultimately each individual persons question to answer for themselves. I however, do not think that the moral questions or concepts of purpose can be discounted in any "simple answer" without a much more thorough development though.
Again, I am not trying to sway you, just trying to point the direction of finding a justification of your beliefs, no matter what they are, if that is what you are looking for.
Richard , you've raised some very good questions which can all be answered using GOD's word (in parenthesis )
God used to appear all the time in the Old Testament, performing all sorts of miracles. Why no more? ( this was to prove his existence --we have his written word, the Bible , now .)
Many of the New Testament writers clearly thought Jesus would return during their lifetimes, or before the end of the first century. Shouldn't we assume by now that something went wrong? ( No , we are told to keep alert and watch for we do not know the hour or the day ---Matt 24:42 -)
Somehow God expects us to believe in him, love and worship him even though he hasn't proven his existence to anyone,-----( We are to worship him in spirit and truth John 4 : 24 )
or otherwise face eternal torment.--( no where does GOD threaten us with eternal torment ---- he says Life and death are our choices . Deuteronomy 30 : 19 )
And according to the bible, most people won't find him, and will spend an eternity in hell,( Matthew 7 :13 --says broad is the way leading off into DESTRUCTION _ it doesn't say Hell ) including some who had never even heard of Jesus.( He tells us in his word --Isa 11 : 9 -- that all will know that he is Jehovah ---)
I don't see why an all-powerful, loving God would do that, or even need to go through all the trouble. Couldn't God just snap his magic fingers and destroy Satan if he was causing the problems? If Adam and Eve ruined the world for everyone by their mistake, couldn't God just start over from scratch and correct the mistake if it wasn't what he intended, and spare billions of people from being condemned?
( Yes he could have just done away with Satan , Adam and Eve , at that moment and started all over . But think about the angels that were looking on ..remember God created angels long before man.......Would it have been fair to them if he had done that ? Would they have not wondered if Adam and Eve could have been right and God wasn't giving them a chance ? SO God in his all loving , merciful way ---is giving time for us to see for ourselves , who is right and who is wrong ,. It isn't God who brings the punishment or suffering that we endure , IT pains him greatly to see all of this happening .But He's giving us what we want----- so that we can finally see, that we really can't successfully exist without him.
Why would he need to impregnate a virgin, send Jesus to die on a cross, etc.? -( another perfect man was needed to replace perfect Adam , so Jesus gladly agreed to leave his position in heaven and to be born as a baby , grow up and repurchase what Adam lost.)
If God is all-powerful and all-knowing, then how could this world not be what he intended? ( It's not what he intended because Satan had freedom to choose , and he chose selfishness. He wanted the worship that GOD was getting . So he deceived the first perfect human couple ------- But this earth STILL Will be what God intended , he has told us that also --------- ( Isaiah 55 : 11 ) but it depends on complete obedience to his word . If mankind had remained obedient , he would have continued to enjoy perfect human life -no sickness, no suffering , no death ,. GOD would have provided man with needed guidance and would use his power to safeguard mankind against any calamity . But man rejected GOD's guidance , he chose the course of self rule In trying to do something he was never designed to do , he has brought calamity upon himself ( Jer 10 : 23 Eccl 8 : 9 Rom 5 : 12 ) Yet God has been patiently seeking out those who because of love for him and his ways , are willing to serve him . He sets before them the opportunity to enjoy all the blessings of which they have been deprived because of man's imperfections and misrule ( REV 21 : 3-5 .... ) The provision God made by means of his son to redeem humans from sin ans death is a marvelous evidence of GOD"s great love for mankind ( JOHN 3: 16) God has also set as appointed time when he will destroy those who ruin the earth and will cause lovers of righteousness to enjoy life in harmony with his own opriginal purpose ( REV 11:18 PS 37 10,11)
memyselfi,
I am aware that there are many apologists who have written volumes on these subjects, and I will check out the ones you mentioned in more detail. But the fact that it takes long, drawn out answers and mental gymnastics to somehow make a God not contradict reality, and requires "faith" to overcome the numerous logical problems of the belief system, leads me to believe that maybe there is a much simpler answer to it all.
memyselfi, thanks for starting my morning with a ray of intelligent sunshine in what is predominantly a thick fog. I hope you and Richard will continue this dialog.
Richard, I know you weren't asking me, and I do not know if they were purely rhetorical and already understood by you, but your questions are good ones. The problem in answering them, is that most of the questions you asked each involve long and somewhat drawn out answers that require somewhat more than most Sunday Schools offer.
To just break down the human sufferings requires vast amounts of text and go back and forth forever. The overview would be something like this like this though:
Human Evil/Free Will - Humans must have the ability to sin. Without choice, we are praiseless and blameless... eventually goes back into whether or not we do have free choice, since we were apparently created with an un-quenchable desire to sin. This is probably the longest dialectic, and also seems to create the most divisions, even among the theists
Natural Evil/Different Understanding of Omnipotent - Second order virtues - Can God create a rock so big, he cannot pick it up? Can God create mountains without making valleys? Can God create patience, generosity and bravery without trials, shortage and fear?
Human & Natural Evil/The Adversary & Divine Tribulations - It must be the devil of course. Somewhat dualistic, and not as prominent, probably due to being more traditionally attested than biblically when the whole of the Bible is considered.
Divine Punishment/Divine Reward - How could a perfect being offer perfect justice and reward without requiring perfect punishment? Again, watch the dualism, but the idea is that if the righteous are to be rewarded, the evil must be punished.
I have chased this rabbit before, and there really are good answers to your questions, if you are seriously looking for them. While none provide an absolute proof of the ethical monotheistic God, some are sound enough that many people would claim that they not only provide proof of one; they demonstrate the absolute logical necessity of one. If you are curious about the technical and formal arguments, they would be broadly considered a specific type of cosmological argument called the teleological. There have been many books written, and I imagine everything you ever wanted to know could be found on the internet somewhere for free just by looking up those words. If however, you are actually looking for a reason to believe, there are many apologists that do a great job laying it all out, and some are very convincing in their understandings of theodicy. RC Sproul and James Hall are good places to start, and I imagine their work can be found for free as well.
God used to appear all the time in the Old Testament, performing all sorts of miracles. Why no more? Many of the New Testament writers clearly thought Jesus would return during their lifetimes, or before the end of the first century. Shouldn't we assume by now that something went wrong?
Somehow God expects us to believe in him, love and worship him even though he hasn't proven his existence to anyone, or otherwise face eternal torment. And according to the bible, most people won't find him, and will spend an eternity in hell, including some who had never even heard of Jesus.
I don't see why an all-powerful, loving God would do that, or even need to go through all the trouble. Couldn't God just snap his magic fingers and destroy Satan if he was causing the problems? If Adam and Eve ruined the world for everyone by their mistake, couldn't God just start over from scratch and correct the mistake if it wasn't what he intended, and spare billions of people from being condemned? Why would he need to impregnate a virgin, send Jesus to die on a cross, etc.?
If God is all-powerful and all-knowing, then how could this world not be what he intended?
Richard
I don't understand what you mean by saying "I guess he just enjoys playing a cruel game of hide and seek."
Would you explain this please ?
Richard
God doesn't tolerate evil so that we can have freewill, He gave freewill to Adam and Eve way before evil began.He's tolerating it to give us time to see for ourselves,that we cannot exist successfully without his guidance.He doesn't force us to worship him any more than he forced the angels in heaven to stay there when they decided to join Satan.
GOD did create a perfect world,free of sin. Evil began when Satan deceived Eve.Remember, a day is a thousand years and a thousand years a day with GOD -so our all-powerful, all-knowing, loving God, in his own time will put things back the way he meant them to be .
blueanjell,
Again, if God "tolerates" all of the evil in this world so that we can have free will, then what about heaven? Since there is no sin in heaven, will everyone in heaven be puppets and slaves forced to worship God, with no free will, and no choices to make? If so, I don't think I would want to go there. It would be inferior to this world.
The only other possibility would be that you retain free will in heaven, but always choose good over evil. If that's the case, then why wouldn't an all-powerful, all-knowing, loving God simply create a world like that in the first place, if that is going to be the end result anyway? I guess he just enjoys playing a cruel game of hide and seek.
Hi Richard ----sorry it's taken me so long to respond to your question. I'm in New zealand now, and have just gotten back on the pc. In answer to your question,God tolerates the bad conditions we have - just as the surgeon tolerates his bad working conditions . We all would agree that those working conditions are not what the surgeon would have prefered------same as the condition of this world is not what GOD intended. They both merely tolerate the situation.
. as was mentioned before-- God is patiently tolerating many things that he finds totally unacceptable. Although he hates wickedness, he is temporarily allowing it to continue. There are good reasons for his doing so. For one thing, this allows time for the crucial issues raised by Satan's rebellion in the garden of Eden to be settled once and for all time. The issues that center around the rightness and rightfulness of God's way of ruling. Also, his patient endurance of wrong provides time and opportunity for those involved in badness to change.
GOD did create a world without evil ,he didn't create the suffering,Adam and Eve brought that upon themselves and their offspring by their disobedience. But god will in his own time eliminate all wickedness and mankind will once again live the way GOD originally intended .
would you want children who were forced to love you? that would not be true love
-- Posted by michaelbell on Wed, Apr 29, 2009, at 3:44 AM
No, but I wouldn't burn them for eternity if they didn't love me, and I wouldn't call it "true love" if those were the only two options I gave them.
If it is about your precious free will, then what about Heaven? If evil is a necessity to have free will, then is there no free will in Heaven, since it is without sin?
Good point darmstrong. It was and is indeed about free will love triumping over duty.
Search the world over and you will find nothing more precious than this free will love.
Richard,
You asked why didn't God start out with a world of no evil? Well he did the problem wasn't God it was his creation. He wanted someone other than angels to worship him. So he created the perfect man and woman with their own free will. He didn't want puppets or robots to worship him. He want someone with free will. So he started with a perfect world that was contaminated be a free thinking man.
would you want children who were forced to love you? that would not be true love.
To have your creation love you is true love.
blueanjell,
In your illustration, the surgeon's working conditions are beyond his control. How does this apply to a God that is supposed to have omnipotent power? Wouldn't an omnipotent God have the ability to create any kind of world he desired, including one without evil?
Obviously, if there is a Heaven, then God has the power to create such a world. So why didn't God simply start out with that, instead of creating a world of suffering in which billions of people end up condemned?
Why Is God Tolerant?
First, we must ask: Why does God, who has the highest standards of righteousness, tolerate badness at all? (Deuteronomy 32:4; Habakkuk 1:13) Does this mean he condones evil? Not at all! Consider the following illustration: Imagine that there is a surgeon who violates basic principles of hygiene and who also inflicts great pain on his patients. If he worked in a hospital, would he not be removed swiftly? But there are some circumstances where extraordinary tolerance might be required. In an extreme emergency, perhaps on a battlefield, for example, might it not be necessary to tolerate surgeons' working in primitive and dangerous conditions, perhaps even using what would normally be considered inferior equipment and surgical instruments?
In a similar way, today God is patiently tolerating many things that he finds totally unacceptable. Although he hates wickedness, he is temporarily allowing it to continue. There are good reasons for his doing so. For one thing, this allows time for the crucial issues raised by Satan's rebellion in the garden of Eden to be settled once and for all time. These are issues that center around the rightness and rightfulness of God's way of ruling. Also, his patient endurance of wrong provides time and opportunity for those involved in badness to change.
You know I am dumbfounded with the word tolerance because that word only shows up when anybody is talking about christians. You don't hear anyone telling the athiest(fool), catholics, or other religions to be tolerant of of God and his Church. It always comes out when you talk about the true christian faith and their morals. The christian is supposse to compramise their beliefs but no one else is suppose to do that. And you want to talk about bigot Obama is a big one. He went and stayed in a church that claimed to be christian but the preacher always taught bigotry and hatred torawds other races. And he is a big supporter of murdering unborn children.
I for one am doing my utmost best to become who I want to be which is like Christ!
-- Posted by michaelbell on Mon, Apr 27,
I totally agree with your statement , Michael, for the Bible strongly encourages us to be like Jesus , who is the image of the invisible GOD ,JEHOVAH.
"In a word, as God's dear children, try to be like him."--Eph. 5:1, New English Bible.
certainly we want to be like Christ Jesus, a man of integrity.
EVERYBODY, some time or other, tries to imitate someone. Children try to imitate their parents or, very often, other children with whom they play. If they try to imitate good qualities, it is to their advantage. If they imitate that which is bad, it is to their own hurt.
Interestingly, we are invited to "become imitators of God, as beloved children." (Eph. 5:1)
In the beginning,the Bible tells us: "God went on to say: 'Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.' . . . (Gen. 1:26, 27) "God then blessed them and said to them: 'Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it.'" (Gen. 1:28)
By now --there have been billions of individuals, all the offspring of Adam and Eve, that should have had the image and likeness of God, their Father,having his qualities, his fine attributes of wisdom, justice, love and power.
But things have changed , Because Adam disobeyed God, and while some men manifest to some extent the fine qualities originally included in the perfect man,ADAM, it is sin that predominates. The apostle Paul expressed it very well in Romans 5:12: "Through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned." (Rom. 5:14)
Remember this: After Adam's fall Jehovah God was still very much interested in mankind, and he purposed to have human creatures fill this earth. (Gen. 1:28) However, God's justice had to be satisfied, and so he provided a redeemer, or ransomer, for Adam's offspring. The scriptures inform us: "God loved the world [of mankind] so much that he gave his only-begotten Son [as a ransom], in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) What love! The Son of God made his appearance as a perfect human creature by birth through the virgin Mary. He was really the 'second Adam' or second perfect man on earth. (1 Cor. 15:45) He poured out his life and purchased the whole human family. Jesus Christ proved himself to be the ransomer for mankind, as it is stated: "The Son of man came . . . to give his soul a ransom in exchange for many." (Matt. 20:28) Christians understand that there is "one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself a corresponding
ransom for all."--1 Tim. 2:5, 6.
Jesus Christ Is like his Father in heaven. (Heb. 1:3) "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." (Col. 1:15)
So those who want to be like Jehovah God would be looking to Christ Jesus as you do Michael, as their example , so as to be walking in his footsteps.And the only way to follow Jesus is to learn what Jehovah requires of us as we read his words( thoughts ) recorded in the Bible.
GETTING THE THOUGHTS OF GOD
The highest possible wisdom: "The wisdom from above is first of all chaste, then peaceable, reasonable, ready to obey, full of mercy and good fruits, not making partial distinctions, not hypocritical."--Eph. 5:26; Jas. 3:17, NW.
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith Jehovah. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. ..........................--Mark 10:18; Rom. 3:10, NW; Isa. 55:7-11, AS.
Jesus said he did not speak his own thoughts but those of God, and that any who heard and obeyed those sayings were like a discreet man who built his house on a rock foundation. ......................................................--1 Pet. !Peter 1:25, NW; Eccl. 12:11, AT.
SO , Jehovah's specific thoughts or precepts, we get from his words recorded in the Bible.
http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.ht...
This may be of interest to some parents
Before you pick at the hypocrite which most non- believers do, a hypocrite which was an actor in the day had no intention of becoming what he portrayed, I for one am doing my utmost best to become who I want to be which is like Christ!
somebody asked me when I thought , not when I knew the end for no man knows but God himself, I replied when all the signs are present you can look[ I look everyday I am posting this comment for him to see]
24:1 And Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way; and his disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple. 24:2 But he answered and said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 24:3 And as he sat on the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what `shall be' the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man lead you astray. 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am the Christ; and shall lead many astray. 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled: for `these things' must needs come to pass; but the end is not yet. 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and earthquakes in divers places. 24:8 But all these things are the beginning of travail. 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up unto tribulation, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all the nations for my name's sake. 24:10 And then shall many stumble, and shall deliver up one another, and shall hate one another. 24:11 And many false prophets shall arise, and shall lead many astray. 24:12 And because iniquity shall be multiplied, the love of the many shall wax cold. 24:13 But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come. 24:15 When therefore ye see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let him that readeth understand), 24:16 then let them that are in Judaea flee unto the mountains: 24:17 let him that is on the housetop not go down to take out things that are in his house: 24:18 and let him that is in the field not return back to take his cloak. 24:19 But woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days! 24:20 And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on a sabbath: 24:21 for then shall be great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be. 24:22 And except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is the Christ, or, Here; believe `it' not. 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 24:25 Behold, I have told you beforehand. 24:26 If therefore they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the wilderness; go not forth: Behold, he is in the inner chambers; believe `it' not. 24:27 For as the lightning cometh forth from the east, and is seen even unto the west; so shall be the coming of the Son of man. 24:28 Wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. 24:29 But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 24:30 and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 24:31 And he shall send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 24:32 Now from the fig tree learn her parable: when her branch is now become tender, and putteth forth its leaves, ye know that the summer is nigh; 24:33 even so ye also, when ye see all these things, know ye that he is nigh, `even' at the doors. 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished. 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only. 24:37 And as `were' the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. 24:38 For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, 24:39 and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of man. 24:40 Then shall two man be in the field; one is taken, and one is left: 24:41 two women `shall be' grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left. 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not on what day your Lord cometh. 24:43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken through. 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready; for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh. 24:45 Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath set over his household, to give them their food in due season? 24:46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 24:47 Verily I say unto you, that he will set him over all that he hath. 24:48 But if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord tarrieth; 24:49 and shall begin to beat his fellow-servants, and shall eat and drink with the drunken; 24:50 the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he expecteth not, and in an hour when he knoweth not, 24:51 and shall cut him asunder, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 24:1-51
I guess, I was offended, by some of the comments made by some who try as they might to put "God" in a box, from which they can pull Him out whenever they need, in order to try to settle a point.
I, personally, have never met God, even though I often talk to Him. I definitely do not know God's mind or thoughts. I have never talked to a resurrected man, nor do I expect to, while, alive.
I truly feel that some people put more faith in their religious literature, including thier choice of bible, than they do in "God". It is indeed unfortunate that they know more about what is inside the literature than they do about the authors, interpreters, or origins, of their own religious literature. To me the bible must be taken/used "objectively and subjectively" with care. It should not be worshiped.
The test, of ones faith, is seen in the product of individual reasoning, by what they say and do. It is not, as some assume, in parroting someone's religious bigotry.
Take "God" out of the "box of religious confinement" as He has been placed in, by ignorant, intolerant, although well meaning, heathens. Man, is a product of creation, and meant to enjoy as well as protect this life given us. Honor God, by believing in the care and the freedom He has given man, by helping take care of His creative works, to include our brothers and sisters.
God, and only God, will decide the results of your life cycle.
Peace
I might add that this subject shows the point made by Michael in some of his earlier blogs that you have to understand the Jewish of Jesus in order to fully grasp the Jesus that is alive and well today.
Likewise you have to understand what a "Deist" was in the time of the likes of Jefferson and Washington that you mentioned.
There is no doubt in my mind that this country was founded and based on the beliefs of a people led by the only God that led Abraham. It was by faith that Abraham followed and it was by his faith alone that had righteousness imputed upon him.
There is also no doubt in my mind that the adversary of this God has gotten a foothold on America and through deception is leading this country down a path of imploding destruction.
Maybe you should know that the beginning of this country some of our leaders were "Deist" and objected to the trinity concept.
Posted by dipperdan on Sun, Apr 26, 2009, at 8:53 PM
dipperdan,
Maybe you should know that at the beginning of this country the word "Deist" was struggling under a point of evolution of meaning and most if not nearly all of its defining attributes were quite different than the ones that are key in defining "Deist" today.
A true "Deist" today would not have qualified as a "Deist" of the time period you are referencing. Although you could find a common thread woven in each you would likewise find more numerous uncommon threads when you lay the two items side by side.
Very good topic, Michael. I totally agree with you. Our country has made up their own religion and its called: "do what you want." There are so many people who think they can live freely and without fault, and believe that they can enter eternal life because they walked an isle when they were ten. That is playing with fire my friends. Christians should not just live based on faith alone. Its not a religion, its a relationship with our God. There is one way to heaven and thats through Christ, who bled and died so that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Matthew 7:13-14 says,"enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate that leads to destruction and many will find it and narrow is the gate that leads to life and few will enter it." God bless
I am sorry, I should have used maybe "intolerance" instead of "bigotry". The term "bigot" means - one obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his own church, party, belief, or opinion. I meant no disrepect to your beliefs.
freedom of all the false religions is guaranteed by our constitution, and I have my own take on the trinity, but for Obama to say that comment and claim to be a Christian, I think not.
The bigotry, remark, well I have gotten used to that so I will not comment any further on that one except that ,no I will leave that for another blog.
Ezek. 18:4 states All souls are mine, therefore we need to treat everyone like Jesus. Respect and Honor. the bible also states a man will come to repentance because of the goodness of God.
When people see that goodness, they will want to turn to Christ.
Mother Teresa had the right idea. She was everyone as a Child of God, and treated them like Jesus embodied in the flesh.
Would'nt our community change if we also did likewise.
Love not doctrine(rules of man) will be what wins hearts to God.
Hmmmm; an interesting conclusion and shows some bigotry on your part. The separation of church and state is what insures freedom of religion. I have no fear of the Presidential office and in particular of the individual who temporarily sets in the seat.
Maybe you should know that the beginning of this country some of our leaders were "Deist" and objected to the trinity concept. Here are a few-John Quincy Adams, Ethan Allen, Benjamin Franklyn, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Thomas Paine and George Washington. Now here is a site for you:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/deism....
In our country religion or a persons belief is a persons own right. Please don't dishonor a system that grants you "your right" to believe as you wish.